Karan Singh

Karan Singh ( born March 9, 1931 in Cannes, France) is an Indian writer, politician and diplomat.

Karan Singh was born in 1931 as the only son and crown prince of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, Maharani Tara Devi and the. Singh studied at the Jammu and Kashmir University and at the University of Delhi. At the latter he received his M. A. 1957 in political science. At the University of Delhi, he later also received his doctorate.

Singh's political career began in 1949 at the age of 18, when he was appointed by his father as regent of Jammu and Kashmir. This appointment was made under pressure from the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1952 he was elected Sadr -e- Riyasat ( President of the Province ) and remained so until 1964 when the District by the Office of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir has been replaced. Singh was then from 1964 to 1967 for the first Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1967 he was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Singh was thus at the age of 36 the youngest cabinet minister in the history of India. Shortly after, he was elected to the Lok Sabha and remained from 1967 to 1980 deputy there. In 1973 he was appointed Minister of Health and Family Planning. Previously, Singh was from 1967 to 1973 Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation. In 1979, he became Minister of Education and Culture. From 1989 to 1990 he was the successor of PK Kaul ambassador to the United States. Since 1997 it belongs to the Rajya Sabha in (upper house in parliament ) the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2005 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Singh is the author of several books on English politics and religion, and philosophical essays and poems. In addition, he wrote his autobiography, and a book on Sri Aurobindo.

Since the 1950s, Singh is with Princess Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, the granddaughter of Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal Dynasty, married. The two have three children.